New Years Eve at Disney

BLLB

DIS Veteran
Joined
Nov 29, 2004
DVC members for 10 years. DH is a high school basketball coach. His team is playing at WWOS over Christmas break. We will be staying at Pop with the team. My family, of 4, will be staying longer, including NYE. We have never been at the World at Christmas. We typically go Spring Break. I know crowds are insane. Specifically, I am looking for something for us to do NYE.

I thought I would ask the DVC veterans.
 
Go to the Magic Kingdom on 12/30 and watch the fireworks. They're the same as NYE. On NYE, go to Epcot. Yes, crowds will be insane, but Disney will actually have folks directing traffic on the walkways. I found that, even though it was clearly a "10" crowd level, it felt more like a 7 or 8 because they made an effort to keep everyone moving. I booked three table-service reservations each day just so we could have some respite from the crowds (early lunch, mid-day supper, and late dinner/dessert/drinks).
 
While waiting for the fireworks at Epcot, we often hang out in the movies, China, France and Canada. It gets us out of the crowd for a bit.
 
I am a high school teacher so we only go at Christmas and spring break. If you go spring break and are fine with those crowds you will be fine. I LOVE NYE at WDW. We typically go to Epcot or DHS. We enjoy a few drinks to toast the evening so Magic Kingdom is not for us.Our teenage children also love those parks (less little kids). Both put on a great show.

Epcot - They have different events in some of the world showcase countries. Italy always has a huge stage, lights, music, dancing - very fun. Of course the midnight fireworks.

DHS - We went this year. They did a great star wars firework and laser show at midnight. They also had a fun countdown.

Magic Kingdom - They do their NYE fireworks on Dec. 30th also for a preview show. Less crowds.

Have fun
 


Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I'm kind of excited about staying at POP. I've never stayed there. if we aren't staying DVC, we usually stay at Swan/Dolphin. We've also stayed at POFQ. Since our home resort is BWV, I'm looking forward to a food court .

Also, being a tour guide for an entire team is a little daunting. Not one of them has ever been to Disney!

I think Epcot sounds great. Also like the suggestion to watch the fireworks on 12/30. The team will still be there.
 
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I'm kind of excited about staying at POP. I've never stayed there. if we aren't staying DVC, we usually stay at Swan/Dolphin. We've also stayed at POFQ. Since our home resort is BWV, I'm looking forward to a food court .

Also, being a tour guide for an entire team is a little daunting. Not one of them has ever been to Disney!

I think Epcot sounds great. Also like the suggestion to watch the fireworks on 12/30. The team will still be there.
Just be aware that getting back to POP after fireworks on NYE can take a while. We'll be staying at Boardwalk.
 


Thanks for all the suggestions. I appreciate the input. We will likely walk out the IG to BWV or YC/BC and catch a cab or Uber back to POP.
 
We found Hollywood Studios to be nice and not nearly as crowded as Epcot or MK.
 
We are new to DVC and excited to spend our first NYE at Disney, staying at Beach Club (cash, not points). Does anyone know if there are any special DVC events on NYE?
Thanks!
Stacey
 
Thanks for all the suggestions. I appreciate the input. We will likely walk out the IG to BWV or YC/BC and catch a cab or Uber back to POP.

Hang out a bit, it will help with non-moving traffic.

Tons of fun though.

We are new to DVC and excited to spend our first NYE at Disney, staying at Beach Club (cash, not points). Does anyone know if there are any special DVC events on NYE?
Thanks!
Stacey

Not DVC but BW/BWV has a dance party. Outside on the Village Green.

I agree, but we did not feel the fireworks were just as spectacular. It was a one time experience for us.

Me too. Very difficult to get a sight line as well. And the year I did it, two CMs told me that the rides would not be reopening afterwards. But of course they were as we often know best. :drinking1

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OP, I was staying at the Polynesian when I did this but the show from the beach is incredible on both nights. And MK is a ton of fun on the 30th. So many wonderful options. Also, I know people go on about closures all the time but I entered Epcot at a very late hour one year.
 
OP, I was staying at the Polynesian when I did this but the show from the beach is incredible on both nights. And MK is a ton of fun on the 30th. So many wonderful options. Also, I know people go on about closures all the time but I entered Epcot at a very late hour one year.

Yes, the parks can close to capacity throughout the day, but in the 7 times we've been in WDW for NYE, we have always entered the park (6 times Epcot, once in DHS) after 11 pm without a problem. :)
 
Yes, the parks can close to capacity throughout the day, but in the 7 times we've been in WDW for NYE, we have always entered the park (6 times Epcot, once in DHS) after 11 pm without a problem. :)
We too! Once we attended the party at Boardwalk, and just decided to walk over to see the fireworks around 11:30.
 
We did MK on the 30th and DHS on the 31st - but that was because I wanted to see the Osbourne Lights as well - don't think they are there anymore :( Then we actually park hopped to MK because they had EMH until 2 or 3am and it was awesome!
 
We did NYE and thought it was just awesome. You really have to pace yourself and understand that you may only be going on your FP rides and maybe one more. Crowds are big but if you are a WDW veteran you will know your way around. Eat at off times. Definitely do MK fireworks on the 30th. We did that and it really opened up NYE for us. MK will be open to 2am so I strongly suggest you gear up to stay late. Things empty out. They had Cinderella's coach out and you could take pictures. It was by Be our Guest area.

For NYE we did Studios during the day and in the late afternoon returned to Bay Lake Tower to rest up a bit. We then went over to Poly for dinner and some drinks and watched the fireworks there.
 
We were there several years ago and took advantage of the fireworks on 12/30 at MK. They were wonderful and we had such a good time. On NYE, we may have gone to a park at rope drop, but we scheduled a ADR at our resort for supper and stayed in that night. My DH really dislikes large crowds and he just wasn't as excited about the festive atmosphere as I was. So, we sort of made it a nice, quiet family evening in the villa. We were staying at VWL (back when it was VWL) and it just so happened that we could see the MK fireworks over the main lodge building at midnight. My daughter and I watched them from our balcony.
 
We did MK 12/30 and Epcot 12/31 this past year for the first time since 2010. I still love it all, although I honestly wasn't quite as blown away by the MK fireworks as I thought I'd be. Nevertheless it was all great. I splurged on the MK dessert party on 12/30 so we wouldn't have to fight crowds. For NYE, we just hung in France for half an hour or so until the fireworks started. There's plenty of room to get a great view without having to stand in a mob or camp out for a spot. Plus you can get some champagne and you're right by the IG. We always stay at BCV which is super convenient on NYE. :)

Yeah there's a lot of people, and standby lines are extremely long, but there's so much going on with all the dance parties and stuff that attractions just aren't that big of a deal anyway. I enjoy the crowds and the festive atmosphere. It's much different than the usual park crowds. I suggest making some ADRs (now's a good time if you haven't already) so you can take a break from crowds.
 

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